Journal

Imagine building a new city for 100,000 people — and then simply leaving it empty. That is exactly what is happening in Germany right now. More than 8.4 million square metres of office space stand vacant in the seven largest German cities (JLL, Q2 2025), while the Pestel Institute estimates that 1.4 million homes are missing nationwide. Two crises playing out on the same city map — and yet rarely connected to one another. We believe that is a mistake.

Frankfurt is growing — housing is not keeping pace. With a vacancy rate of 0.2 percent (IHK Frankfurt am Main, Housing Market Report 2024|2025), the market ranks among the tightest in Germany — a figure that leaves practically no room to manoeuvre. At the same time, building permits in Frankfurt fell by around 40 percent between 2021 and 2024, and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) puts annual new-build demand at 4,000 housing units (BBSR, April 2025) — a figure the market is currently falling far short of. The pressure on the city remains high, and it will not ease on its own.

On 19 June 2026, we invited guests to an open city conversation at the HafenCampus of the HfG Offenbach: Continuing to Build Offenbach – From Masterplan 2030 to the City of Tomorrow. What was originally planned as a panel discussion became a genuine evening of encounter — in the truest and most pleasant sense of the word.

Every existing building tells a story — of the era it was built in, of the people who have lived and worked within its walls, and of the traces they’ve left behind. For us, architecture doesn’t begin with a blank page, but with careful observation: what qualities already exist within the fabric of a building? What should be preserved, what needs to go, and where is there room for something new?

A good project begins long before the first building application. For us, it always starts with a conversation: how is a space used, what needs and wishes lie behind the brief, and what constraints exist — legal, structural, financial? Only once these questions are clarified does the real design work begin.

From that first idea, we develop floor plan variations, which we discuss and refine together with our clients. Sketches, feasibility studies and simple models help make spatial relationships tangible long before the first wall is built. This iterative process is essential: it creates space to test ideas, weigh alternatives, and ultimately arrive at a solution that truly works.

Many existing properties hold more potential than is visible at first glance. Outdated floor plans, closed-off room layouts or ageing building technology often conceal just how much architectural and economic quality a building holds. A well-considered renovation can bring that potential to light.

Every renovation begins with a precise survey of the existing building: how is it constructed, where are the load-bearing structures, what is its energy performance, what regulations apply? On this basis, we develop concepts that use structural interventions purposefully — merging rooms, bringing more daylight into a home, or upgrading the building envelope for energy efficiency.